Indiana Basketball: Irrelevant Since Before The iPhone
From Karl Bordner, whose game-winner gave Indiana a 20-18 victory in the first-ever Kentucky-Indiana basketball game in 1924, to Christian Watford, whose 2011-12 Indiana team allowed 102 points to Kentucky in a double-digit Sweet 16 loss, the border rivalry between the Wildcats and Hoosiers lasted nearly 100 years until the series wasn’t renewed in 2012. The NCAA Tournament forced the old foes to meet one more time in 2016, but for the most part, the rivalry has been dead since a streak of playing in 43 consecutive seasons ended over a decade ago.
Sadly, Indiana’s program died with it. The Hoosiers have been irrelevant for a long time. That irrelevancy has Big Blue Nation divided on the significance of IU as a future opponent now that Kentucky and Indiana announced a new four-year series beginning in 2025-26. The four-game commitment will play out in Rupp Arena (Dec. 20, 2025), Lucas Oil Stadium (Dec. 27, 2026), Rupp Arena (Dec. 18, 2027), and Assembly Hall (Dec. 16, 2028).
Mixed reactions
Today on KSR’s morning radio show, Ryan Lemond, a former IU fan and Indiana native, was thrilled that the Wildcats and Hoosiers will renew the series, while Matt Jones, who grew up on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, argued Indiana doesn’t matter anymore, so what is there to be excited about?
Their conflicting reactions to yesterday’s news represent a fan base with older fans reminiscing about the half-blue, half-red crowds in the Hoosier Dome and Freedom Hall, while younger fans know only an Indiana Basketball that occasionally makes a tournament appearance. (And Tom Crean’s facial expressions.)
I’m somewhere in the middle of the debate. I grew up near the Ohio River in Western Kentucky, a folding chair’s throw away from the state line and stores that sold candy-striped pants (and legal fireworks). Some of my earliest Kentucky Basketball memories are those old Saturday games in December.
But the Indiana of yesterday is gone, and today’s Indiana is a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team. The fall is undeniable. Thus, the renewal of the UK-IU series is a huge favor to the Hoosiers. A gift sent north of the river.
Feel however you want to feel about the series returning in 2025-26, but understand how long it has been since Indiana mattered. To make it sink in, here are Things That Didn’t Exist During Indiana’s Last NCAA Tournament Run:
The iPhone
When Indiana beat Kent State to reach the 2002 Final Four (in Rupp Arena, coincidentally), Indiana fans had to T9 predictive text their friends and family in celebration. Some even celebrated by buying new ringtones or commemorative phone cases from the mall kiosk.
Hoosiers fans couldn’t tweet about Indiana’s last great tournament run because Twitter creator Jack Dorsey hadn’t come up with the idea of Twitter yet. A world without Indiana fans on Twitter, those were happier times.
MySpace
A year and a half after Indiana’s last Elite Eight, a guy named Tom introduced MySpace, a popular social networking website that preceded Facebook and Twitter. If MySpace were still around today, Indiana could fit all of its Final Four appearances in its Top 8.
“American Idol”
One of the longest-running reality shows on television, “American Idol” hasn’t been running long enough to outlive Indiana’s Elite Eight drought. Every “American Idol” winner won their first record deal in the years since Indiana’s last win in a Sweet 16 game. Eight-time Grammy winner Carrie Underwood, an “Idol” alum, was finishing up her first year as a broadcast journalism major at Northeastern State University when Indiana played in its last NCAA Regional.
Blue Seating In The Lower Bowl of Rupp Arena
Indiana’s Elite Eight was so long ago that Rupp Arena still had the multicolored chairback seating in the lower bowl.
A 68-Team Tournament
When Indiana last mattered deep into March, the tournament was new to its 65-team format. Indiana made its most recent run one year after the NCAA added an extra team and play-in game in 2001. The First Four was added years later in 2010, creating the 68-team field we know today. So, Indiana’s last run was almost two whole tournament formats ago.
The One-And-Done Rule
Indiana hasn’t seen a Final Four or an Elite Eight since before the one-and-done rule was implemented. The NBA started making its prospects play one year of college basketball in the 2006-07 season, therefore Indiana’s last NCAA glory predates the Greg Oden and Kevin Durant draft class. It predates the famous 2003 class with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade, too.
Most of Kentucky and Indiana’s players
It’s true now, but it will be especially true when Kentucky and Indiana play that first game on Dec. 20, 2025: Very few players, if any, were alive the last time Indiana reached an NCAA Regional Final game. This year’s Kentucky roster has only three players who were breathing oxygen when Indiana beat Kent State in 2002: Tre Mitchell, Antonio Reeves, and Brennan Canada.
So, now that I’ve made you feel old, you see why some Kentucky fans aren’t excited about the Hoosiers. Indiana hasn’t mattered late into the NCAA Tournament since the creation of social media, or current college underclassmen.
Be better, Indiana.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard